Artillery
Artillery is a type of weapon, purchaseable in-game, which encompasses dozens of different items and weapons. Purchaseable primarily for coins (although the Japanese 46cm, and some modern guns, can be purchased for gems), artillery typically forms the core primary armament of the majority of vessels, and also typically compromises the secondary and even tertiary armaments of warships. Many different artillery pieces are available in game, ranging from small 12cm and 12.7cm weapons, to massive 16" and 46cm main armaments. Knowing the size, role, and type of your ship is crucial for determining what armament your vessel should have. Light Artillery Light Artillery typically are the main armaments of destroyers, frigates, torpedo boats, and other small ships. Larger vessels, such as cruisers, carriers, or battleships, may also have these weapons as secondary to protect against close range vessels. Submarines sometimes also equip one or two light artillery for close in defense or for attacking merchants. This is a list of light artillery currently in the game, listed in order from first to last in the shop. Light artillery can generally be divided up into two categories: 127mm and 140mm guns. 127mm guns are quite popular as the main armaments of light ships, being cheap, small, and packing a decent punch against unarmoured ships. 140mm guns are fairly rare, as they are generally inferior to their 127mm counterparts in terms of range, rate of fire, and guns for cost. They are still very popular in historical builds however, being the only casemate weapon available. Within the 127mm family, statistics are very similar, with the factor that most people base their choice on mostly being size and looks. Most people opt with the 12.7cm, as it packs the most guns in the smallest size, and looks fairly nice to boot. However, arguments can be made for the 5.25"'s better range, and very British look. The 5"US is typically only used in aesthetic builds, as it is the same size as the 12.7cm, but has half the firepower. The 12cm Type3 is also a strong contender, being very cheap, above average toughness, and slightly better range, although is slightly larger than the 12.7cm gun-for-gun. The 140mm family is a different story. Featuring 3 different guns with identical statistics, the choice is made strictly on looks. Many people building early model battleships and cruisers will typically have the 14cm Casemate as secondaries along the sides, with some 14cm L. Cruiser guns on the decks. Cruiser builds mostly use 14cm L. Cruiser guns, possibly with the standard 14cm housed in the super structure. Submarines and destroyers usually mount the 14cm standard gun. Overall, the 12.7cm and 12cm Type3 guns are probably the strongest weapons of this class, but many of the other 127mm guns are nearly identical, meaning choice of gun is up to personal preference. The 14cm guns are typically left solely for historical builds, as their statistics are slightly weaker than their 127mm counterparts. Cruiser Artillery Cruiser artillery are middle of the road weapons, able to hit harder and more effectively than light artillery, and with a higher rate of fire than battleship weapons. They are usually the main armaments of cruisers, and the secondaries of many battleships. Some large destroyers may mount cruiser weapons, but these destroyers usually straddle into cruiser territory, anyways. This is a list of cruiser artillery currently in the game, listed in order from first to last in the shop. Likewise with light artillery, cruiser artillery can be divided into two categories; 6" and 8" guns. 6" guns feature high rates of fire, typically in triple turrets, allowing them to quickly cut through unarmoured and lightly armoured targets at close range. However, their lack of sheer alpha damage and short range compared to 8" guns can hamper them against long range or armoured opponents. 8" guns are more versatile, packing enough alpha damage and range to deal with moderately armoured targets, even at long range, and still have high enough rate of fire to make short work of targets at close range. Their higher cost may make them unavailable for starting players, though, and their DPM still isn't as good as 6" guns overall. The 6" family are almost identical, with only small variations in the range and size of weapons being deciding factors. Overall, most people will choose the 15.2cm3 Italy and 15.5cm, as they are the smallest triple weapons of the class (I personally favor the Italian gun, as it has a bit more range and is ever so slightly smaller), however, the 15.2cm gun makes an excellent large-destroyer gun or starter gun, due to its even smaller size, lower cost, and dual barreled nature. The 6"US gun is usually never used, due to its quite fat size, and nill statistical advantages over the 15.2cm3 Italy and 15.5cm. Some use it in aesthetic ships or replicas, however. 8" guns are quite popular among cruiser builers, with the vast majority choosing the 8"US gun over the 20.3cm gun, as the 8"US gun packs 3 guns (agains the 2 of the 20.3cm) in an only ever so slightly larger package than the 20.3cm gun. The 20.3cm is still a viable option, however, and is heavily used by aesthetic and historical builders. Some people claim that the 20.3cm is also more accurate than the 8"US, but this has yet to be scientifically and conclusively tested and confirmed. In general, the 8" gun family is the go-to for most cruisers, due to their bigger punch and longer range. This doesn't mean that the 6" guns are irrelevant however, as they can be devastating against light armour at close ranges, even more so than the 8" guns. The 8"US gun is probably the best gun of this class, as it features all of the advantages of an 8" gun, but with a triple turret. It should still be noted that every single gun in this class is very powerful and relatively close in terms of capabilities, so any gun of this class can be used to devastating effect if used correctly. Light Battleship Artillery Light battleship artillery represent a large change from cruiser artillery. While cruiser artillery featured high rates of fire with mediocre damage, light battleship artillery move into an entirely new league in terms of raw damage, but suffer in terms of rate of fire. These guns feature over four times as much raw damage as cruiser artillery, but are much more expensive, heavier, and have much slower reloads. This is a list of light battleship artillery currently in the game, listed in order from first to last in the shop. Just like with the other types of artillery, light battleship artillery come in two distinct groups; 12" guns and 32cm guns. These guns are typically used on smaller battlecruisers and battleships, as well as on large cruisers. They represent a transition for the player from smaller caliber light and cruiser artillery, to large battleship guns, like the mighty 40cm and 46cm guns. They are expensive for new players to get, but are a logical step forward from the cruiser weapons which can be purchased relatively quickly. The 12" gun family is quite diverse. Probably one of the most common weapons of this group is the 28.3cm German, due to its cheap cost, heavy firepower, and extremely long range. However, this gun is quite fragile and large, so people looking for a tougher and more compact version will typically gravitate towards the 30.5cm3 US. Be warned, however, that this gun is much more expensive, and over twice as heavy. It also loses a bit of range. The 30.5cm gun is rarely used, as it is quite tall, fat, and poorly armoured for its obese size. It also packs only two guns in a turret, compared to the triples of the other two members of the 12" family. The extra cost over the 28.3cm German doesn't help matters, either. The 32cm family consists of 32cm guns (duh) made/modified by Italy from the Conte di Cavour and Andrea Doria class battleships. These guns are like baby battleship guns in every sense, featuring heavy weight, good protection, high damaging guns, good range, and slow reloads. They make great weapons for light battlecruisers and battleships, and have triple and double gun options available for whatever your wallet or aesthetic desires. The 28.3cm German and 30.5cm3 US guns are standouts as very strong weapons in this class, featuring low cost and lightweight firepower in the case of the 28.3cm German, or high survivability and great firepower in the case of the 30.5cm3 US. The 32cm gun family also offers two very strong options for small battlecruisers or battleships, meaning nearly all weapons in this class have great potential for weaponry on medium-large sized ships. Heavy Battleship Artillery Heavy battleship artillery are the big guns. Ranging from the tried and true 36cm weapons used on many American, Japanese, and other ships, to the truly gargantuan 40cm and 46cm weapons of Japanese and American superbattleships at the end of World War II, these guns are expensive and powerful, featuring very high damage, great protection, slow reloads, massive size, and heavy weight, these weapons can obliterate enemy warships with a few well-placed shots. This is a list of heavy battleship artillery currently in the game, listed in order from first to last in the shop. The different groups or classes of heavy battleship artillery are primarily defined by how large you want your ship to be, not by other statistics. There are still three primary groups, however. The first and smallest is the light capital ship category, which consists of the 36cm, 36cm3, 38cm2, and 38cm2 English. These guns are some of the lightest of this artillery type, as well as the cheapest, allowing them to be ground out early. Their lightweight nature means that they can easily be mounted on relatively small hulls, allowing for a big punch. The 36cm gun is the cheapest and probably most common option, feautring good range, lightweight nature, low cost, and a decent rate of fire for such a large gun. However, the overall damage pumped out by this gun can be a bit low, due to only having two barrels with a fairly low chemical energy for its class. 38cm2 and 38cm2 English guns are also dual barreled, but have a significantly higher damage rating, meaning they hurt a lot more when they hit. However, they're also heavier and more expensive. One great option is the 36cm3. This gun features three barrels, allowing a veritable wall of fire, all for a cost only a bit more than the 36cm. The next class is the medium category. This consists of the 40cm2, 38cm3 Italy, and 36cm4. 40cm2 guns are quite common, due to their beastly damage rating, fantastic durability, and great range. This is countered by their high price and heavy weight however. 38cm3 Italy guns are also a fantastic option, as they have more guns per turret than the 40cm2, with similar range and only slightly lower damage specs. These guns are also quite heavyweight, however. One often overlooked gun is the 36cm4 gun. This gun has four barrels per turret, allowing for an extreme amount of fire downrange, which makes up for its low chemical energy. Be cautious, though, as this gun also is quite poorly armoured, and has an inferior range to many other guns. The last and biggest category is the heavy category. The big guns of the big guns. This consists of the 46cm3, 40cm3, and 38cm4. If you want to be a competetive battleship or battlecruiser in multiplayer or in any roleplay, you're going to need to mount these gargantuan weapons on your warship. These are the heaviest and most expensive weapons in the game, though, so make sure you take that into consideration. If you are able to purchase gems, go for the 46cm3 ASAP. This gun has twice the damage per shot than 38cm guns, as well as the longest range and highest toughness of any gun in the game. If you don't have gems, you still have two options. The 40cm3 gun is in many ways, a toned-down 46cm3. Although weaker, with lower damage, and less range than the 46cm3, the 40cm3 is also much lighter, and able to be purchased with mere coins. The 38cm4 gun can be risky, but rewarding, as the quad barrels of the gun mean you can pump out massive amounts of damage down range, and the gun's lack of weight means you can save more displacement for armour or engines. Be very cautious though, as this gun has very low toughness. Modern Artillery Modern artillery are relatively new to the game, and consists of just two weapons. These weapons are characterized by very little to no shell arc, extremely high shell velocity, limited magazines of 100 shots per gun, low damage, ability to shoot down aircraft when combined with modifications, and compact size. This is a list of modern artillery currently in the game, listed in order from first to last in the shop. These guns are identical, with the only difference being that the Mk45 has three times as much chemical energy than the Oto Melara. This means that if you're going to buy one of these, buy the Mk45. It is very important to note that there are in-app purchases that you can make that can drastically increase the performace of these weapons. When you purchase the SPY-1 Radar and Phased Array Radar, you allow your Mk45 or Oto Melara guns to shoot down enemy aircraft when you tap anywhere near them. Furthermore, this purchase also allows your VLS missiles to shoot down enemy aircraft. If you're going to buy VLS missiles, Mk45s, or Oto Melaras, you should definitely invest in this purchase. Category:Game Related Category:Guides